Cast
Barry (Tom Green)
Josh (Breckin Meyer)
E.L. (Seann William Scott)
Beth (Amy Smart)
Rubin (Paulo Costanzo)
Tiffany (Rachel Blanchard)
Kyle (DJ Qualls)
Directed by Todd Phillips Written by Todd Phillips and Scott Armstrong
Rated R for strong sexual content, nudity, crude humor, language and drug use. Running Time: 97 minutes Distributed by Dreamworks SKG

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Road Trip is an overall funny college movie. Josh (Meyer) and Tiffany (Blanchard) have been together ever since they were toddlers. Now in college, Josh is in Ithaca, New York and Tiffany is in Austin, Texas. Both promise one another to always be faithful, never to cheat. However, Josh does cheat and videotapes having sex with another girl. His roommate accidentally mails the tape to Tiffany. Josh then drags two of his college buddies (Costanzo and Scott) and one not-so-eager freshman (Qualls), who happens to own the car, on a raucous 1800 –mile road trip from Ithaca to Austin to attempt to save a lifelong romance.

Road Trip is hilarious, but the film does aspectual problems in its script.

Todd Phillips co-wrote and directed Road Trip. Phillips does formidable job directing the college film under producer Ivan Reitman. The script has some problems. I found Josh’s dream sequences about Tiffany confusing and pointless. Also, the whole aspect of the characters treating cheating like a normal thing, which is what a lot of college guys do, does not appeal to me. I just could not route for Josh to get to Austin in time to get the videotape. The film has many cheesy moments, especially at the end. However, the actors’ actions and shock value is what really gets you laughing out loud.

Seann William Scott is once again the scene-stealer in a movie. Scott was the hilarious Stifler in last summer’s American Pie and the best thing in Final Destination. Scott plays Josh’s buddy E.L., who is a typical cocky sex driven college student. Scott is just so precise in showing his inner confidence of his characters and masters the use of quirky facial movements. E.L. is really the same character as Stifler. The character just gives Scott new lines and different actions to make audiences laugh. Amy Smart shows some moments as Beth, who is the girl Josh makes the video with. However, Beth believes that the time she was with Josh was special and she wants more than a one stand with him. Smart has terrific eyes and nice emotion; she just needs a breakthrough role. Tom Green is very weird and nutty as Barry. The scenes in the film with Green and the snake that he has to baby-sit are amusing. However, the scenes where he is telling the story of the road trip while giving a campus tour are stale.

Road Trip is a comedy that was made for college students. It takes pieces from Animal House, Revenge of the Nerds and American Pie. However, Road Trip is nowhere near the quality of those classic college films. Shock comedy is a big part of Road Trip, which should bring in nice size crowds of twenty year olds. The film will most likely be a hit this summer.

Report Card Grade: B-

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